Oh, Brother
by ncistatelover
Summary: The death of a naval captain may not be out of the norm for NCIS, but the death of this particular captain brings a whole load of 2005 drama back into the lives of Team Gibbs.
1. Chapter 1: Joshua Todd

Another day generally meant another case for US crime fighters, and today for those who worked for the small agency known as NCIS was no exception. A naval captain had been found dead on the border of a patch of woodland in West Virginia, and of course the Major Criminal Response Team had been called in to investigate and solve the probable murder.

The Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, the utterly ruthless Leroy Jethro Gibbs, the utterly deadly Mossad Liaison Zee-Vah David and the utterly geeky McGeek (known to some as Thom E. Gemcity and to others as Tim McGee) arrived at the scene bang on 9:00 in their shiny NCIS crime fighting mobile, and went to greet the police officers currently maintaining the scene.

"Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS," The boss stated to the person who appeared to be in charge- a large, burly officer with a worn expression and greying hair. He looked like the kind of guy who worked too much overtime and never got paid enough for it, who liked to avoid drama and drank to sort out his issues, who lead a lonely life. "What happened here?"

"The Captain over there was found dead this morning by a group of early hikers, we have them all waiting over there if you want their statements," he gestured over to his right, where a group of people in hiking gear were sat, looking impatient but frightened at the same time.

"Did you ID the body?" Gibbs asked in an interrogation-like manor.

"No," replied the officer, "We haven't touched it; we thought we'd leave it to the pros."

Gibbs nodded silently, looking momentarily pleased that the cops had left them to it and that they'd called them pros. "McGee: stay by the entrance and wait for Ducky, Ziva: go and take statements from the hikers, DiNozzo: go and ID the body- check for a wallet, a cell, you know the drill. I'll be looking for taking measurements and photos."

The team accepted their instructions without a fuss and split up- McGee back to the van, Ziva over to the witnesses, Gibbs and DiNozzo to the body. It was lying right on the edge of the woods, where the trees were few and the tarmac of the road began.

Tony knelt down by the side of the body: a heavily toned man about 6ft tall with chestnut brown hair. His eyes were wide open with a look of torment about them and were a unique shade of hazel that looked strangely familiar to him, even though he was positive that he'd never seen this guy before. He was extremely slim- as if he'd been starved, with wounds covering him from head to toe- some bloody cuts and scars, some bruises, some burns. He'd clearly been tortured, but the one wound that stood out the most was a bullet hole in the middle of his forehead: the injury that was fatal enough to end his life. Tony couldn't help it, but he suddenly had a wave of déjà vu wash over him. The headshot, the blank, tormented hazel eyes staring into pure nothingness. Tony's hands started to tremble as he reached into the pocket of the dead man's jeans and pulled out a wallet and an ID badge. At the sight of the name written on the ID, his heart began to beat furiously in suspense and horror.

"Commander," Tony hesitated briefly before reading his name out to Gibbs, "Joshua Todd, age 41."

At the name 'Todd', Gibbs' head snapped up from whatever he was taking a photo of, blue eyes wide and curious. "Has he got a wallet on him?" He snapped.

He nodded, holding it up in his shaking gloved fingers.

"Check it."

Praying to whatever Gods he could think of in his head, Tony unzipped the wallet slowly and began to go through its contents. Inside there was a few dollar bills, a set of keys, a driver's license, credit cards and some other random loyalty cards. For a couple of measly minutes, Tony thought that the name and the eyes were just coincidences, but then he came across a couple of photos that proved Gibbs' philosophy of never believing in coincidences correct (once again).

One of them was of a boy with wavy chestnut hair and hazel eyes, dressed in dark jeans and a red sweater, wearing a pair of black sneakers. It was clearly Joshua Todd at around 11 or 12 years old. On his back he was carrying a girl- most definitely his little sister. She has dark chocolate hair tied back in a high ponytail with bright eyes that matched his, and was wearing a white dress with a pink and blue floral print on it, accompanied by a pair of brown lace-up ankle boots and a pink cardigan. She appeared to be 5 or 6 years old. They were both grinning at the camera, acting like the ideal models, but Tony could just see the twinkle of mischief behind the girl's eyes as she smiled, and couldn't help but wonder what she'd done after it was taken.

The second was practically a replica of the first, and contained the same people, but was taken about 25 years later. The boy had matured into a man, his hair still wavy and chestnut, but there was the occasional gray streak in it, his eyes still bright and hazel, but crinkled around the edges from the stresses of adult life. A wedding band was on his left ring finger, but he was still wearing a pair of jeans, sneakers and a sweater, yet this one was a different one in a shade of dark green. The girl on his back was most definitely a woman, and a pretty one, one that Tony could remember every detail of vividly even 3 years after her death. Her chocolate hair was curled and rested on her shoulders; her eyes sparkled just like her brother's. She was wearing a white top with a brown leather jacket over the top (Tony remembered loving that jacket), accompanied by a pair of skinny jeans and a similar pair of ankle boots. Kate Todd was laughing and clinging to her brother tightly- as she was older now and worried that he'd drop her. Josh was looking up at her proudly, just like an adoring older brother would look at his baby sister.

"Gibbs," Tony croaked-his throat suddenly dry with emotion, "You gotta see this."

Gibbs stalked over to his younger agent, and Tony held up the photographs for him to take. He took them, and Tony watched as his stone cold expression turned happy (at the siblings), shocked (at the fact that was now plainly obvious), sad, angry and then pitiful.

Then, Gibbs spoke, his voice barely a mumble. "What is poor Mrs Todd gonna say, when we have to visit her again and tell her that she now only has 3 living children out of the original 5?"

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 **A/N: Another day, a new edit! I've changed to past tense, and to third person, as it is easier for me to maintain writing in easily!**

 **Sorry if you liked the other version better!**

 **Louise :)**


	2. Chapter 2: Messages

Tony couldn't help but feel ridiculously guilty as he and his boss walked up the drive of Launa and Sean Todd's house. He had been made to break the news of another person's death to families before, but this family felt different. Gibbs had been the one to tell Kate's parents of her death, but Tony could remember the sound of her mother's devastated sobs down the line even though it hadn't been on speakerphone. The sound of a mother who'd lost her child was one of the worst.

The two agents stood in front of the door, expressions sombre, as Gibbs raised a hand and rang the doorbell. A couple of moments passed before a woman answered it. She clearly wasn't Launa Todd- she was too young. She had the same chestnut hair that Joshua Todd had had, with a pair of clear brown eyes. Tony remembered Kate mentioning that she had a sister who lived in Miami, and noticed pretty much straight away that this was her.

"NCIS, Special Agent Gibbs," Gibbs stated, showing her his badge, "Are Mr and Mrs Todd home?"

"Yeah," the woman replied, eyeing the two agents up and down somewhat anxiously, her eyes lingering on Tony for slightly longer.

"Can we come in? We have some news for them."

"Yeah, sure," Kate's sister gave a small smile before opening the door wider and allowing the agents inside the house.

As soon as they entered the porch, the woman shut the door behind them and led them down a short hallway, lined with pictures from the past and framed paintings, into a medium-sized lounge. In the lounge were two people, a man and a woman, drinking mugs of hot tea and watching some sort of game show on the TV.

"Mom, Dad, Agents Gibbs and DiNozzo are here to see us," the sister said, causing her parents heads to whip away from the TV and stare at the pair, and Tony's head to turn to hair in confusion: how did she know who he was without being introduced to him?

"Katie's teammates?" Launa Todd asked. The two agents nodded sheepishly. "Please, sit down."

Tony awkwardly took a seat on a single seated couch on the far side of the room, while Gibbs sat on a small stool opposite the couple. For the first time in his entire NCIS career, Tony was witnessing his boss look uncomfortable breaking the news to a victim's family.

"Mr and Mrs Todd," he murmured sullenly, "As much as I would like to sit down and reminisce about what a good agent your daughter was and how missed she is by all of us, I have something to tell you, something that you won't be happy to hear." The guilt in Gibbs' tone was overwhelming, and it kept Tony respectively silent.

Though Launa and Sean looked incredibly wary, they nodded cautiously. "Go on," Sean replied.

"Your eldest son, Captain Joshua Todd, was found dead earlier this morning." Gibbs declared.

Tony watched in silent horror as Launa's face crumpled and tears began to stream down her face. Sean just stared at Gibbs in horror. Kate's sister was the first one to speak upon hearing the news.

"Josh is dead?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

Gibbs took a deep breath, "he was possibly tortured, and then shot by a single bullet through the forehead."

"Oh my god." The sister turned and fled from the room, leaving Gibbs and Tony alone with the parents.

Launa's face was now red and puffy, with tears gleaming on her cheeks. Sean seemed to be growing madder and madder by the minute, but was still seething in silence. "Please tell me that it isn't true," the mother whispered, "Please."

Gibbs shook his head, "It's true."

Launa tearfully leaned into her husband, who wrapped his arms protectively around her, his dark brown eyes blazing as he glared furiously at Gibbs.

"I know this must be difficult news to hear, but…" Gibbs was cut short as he was interrupted by Sean.

"But what Agent Gibbs?" He spat, his eyes flashing furiously, "You come in here at a really inconvenient time and tell us that our eldest son is dead as if you're presenting the news. You upset my wife and Rachel as if it's nothing to you, and barge into my home with absolutely no consideration at all!"

Although Tony knew that Sean was being slightly over reactive, he felt extremely guilty, because the basics of what he was saying were true.

"I think, Agent Gibbs," Sean continued, still seething, "That you should leave. Now."

Without another word to Kate's dad, Gibbs stood up and made his way towards the door. Just as he reached the doorway, he turned around and addressed her mom. "You have my sympathies Ma'am, and my word that I'll stop at nothing to find who's responsible for Josh's death. If you won't believe me on anything else, trust me on that." Then he waltzed out of the door, leaving a whole load of tension behind him.

"Um… Well then," Tony stuttered, rising from his chair hesitantly, causing the couple to stare at him once again, "I probably ought to get going…" He began to make his way towards the door.

"Please stay," Launa begged, "You are the one of Katie's teammates that I've been most anxious to meet. You're Tony, aren't you; her partner?"

Dumbfounded, Tony nodded- how did everyone in this house seem to know his name without being introduced to him? However, he sat back down anyway on a chair a bit closer to Kate's parents.

As if hearing his unspoken question, Launa continued. "She spoke highly of you, whenever we spoke on the phone and work was brought up, she'd mention you. She showed us pictures of all of her teammates."

This made Tony even more shocked- Kate had appeared to despise him at times, especially when he'd gone through her stuff or cracked a sexist joke.

"After her death, that's when Josh joined the Navy. He joined it as a sort of tribute to her, so that he could feel closer to her despite not being able to see her very often, putting his trust in her friends that she'd thought the world of, because she'd trusted them with her life, and that was good enough for him." Launa sighed, "My other son, Sam joined the US marine core, while my youngest son, David became a doctor at Bethesda Naval Hospital after hearing her tales about the plague being set loose in the office.

"She called me that night. She called me as soon as she was made to leave isolation because you were getting so bad. She was in tears- I'd never seen her in such a state; she was crying, saying over and over again how she couldn't continue working at NCIS if the disease killed you, how you had to be ok, how you were dying. Though she'd called you childish and annoying in the past, I understood in that moment that she was fond of you really, that she really cared about you."

Tony felt a lump forming in the back of his throat, remembering how she'd stayed in isolation with him until the point when she was forced to leave, remembering how his heart had shattered when she'd told him that she was infected too, how confused he'd felt after finding out that she'd lied just to stay with him. In an attempt to steer the conversation away from Kate, he turned back to Josh.

"Do you have any idea who could be behind your son's murder?" He asked, "Did he have any enemies?"

Launa shook her head. "None that I'd know of in the Navy, but…" She trailed off.

"But what?"

Kate's mother looked at her husband, who gave a subtle nod. "For the past month or so, we've been getting these…messages. Sometimes in the form of emails, sometimes text messages, sometimes actual notes posted through the door, but we've been getting them every day, and they've all been addressed to my daughter."

"Rachel?"

"No, Kate." Launa got up and walked over to a small cabinet in the corner of the room, opening the top draw and pulling out a pad of paper bound up with an elastic band. "I made a point of keeping all of them just in case something came up." She handed the wad to Tony, who began to go through them.

One of them read, _"I know you're out there Caitlin."_

Another said, " _I'm watching Caitlin, I always have been."_

Then, they turned taunting: _"You can't escape me Caitlin."_

Next, downright creepy: _"Play nice, Caitlin."_

Finally, they became threatening: _"Have it your way then, Caitlin."_

"When did you get this one?" Tony enquired, holding the last one out for her to see.

"Yesterday morning," she replied, "Do you think that they could be involved with Josh?"

Tony deliberately avoided answering that question by moving onto another. "Do you know why someone could be sending these?"

The Todd parents shook their heads. "No," Launa confirmed. "I mean, my daughter is dead." Tony's heart lurched as she said this. "It was all over the news at the time-people that she didn't even know in person knew and would come up to me and give me their condolences."

"It's almost as if," Sean chimed in, "someone is trying to tell us something but they are trying to threaten us at the same time. Someone is trying to drag up old wounds while creating new ones in the process. They want to confuse us."

Tony nodded, surprised at Sean's sudden outburst, before turning back to Launa. "Do you mind if I take these?" He held up the letters.

"Not at all," Launa smiled, "You can have the emails and texts as well if you want."

10 minutes later, Tony found himself with pictures of dozens of messages and a wad of paper in his pocket. Just as he was about to leave, he was approached by Launa once again.

"If these are tied to Josh in some way, and Kate is still involved, please give us answers."

"I will," Tony replied.

Rachel escorted him back to the front door. He stepped outside, noticing that Gibbs had parked the car right in front of the driveway and was sat in it, staring up at the house impatiently while tapping his fingers on the dashboard.

"I'll keep in touch," he stated, handing her his card which had his work details on it.

"I have no doubt about that Agent DiNozzo," she smiled, her eyes lighting up the way that Kate's had.

Tony gave one last grin before turning around and walking back down the driveway to meet his frustrated, coffee-deprived boss.

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 **A/N: Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Oh, Brother! Sorry I didn't upload every day last week- I was ill, and still am a little!  
**

 **See you on Wednesday for I See Darkness!**

 **Louise :)**


	3. Chapter 3: Burning Hatred

Back at NCIS, Tony, Gibbs, Ziva and McGee stood in front of the screen in the bullpen going over the ever-growing details of the case. The back of DiNozzo's head was throbbing from Gibbs smacking it as soon as he'd got in the car after leaving the Todd's.

"Navy Captain Joshua Todd," He began, "Found dead this morning by a group of hikers heading for a woodland trail. Brother of late Special Agent Kate Todd," he felt the eyes of his teammates cut to him to see his reaction as he pulled his former partner's ID photo up on the screen; ignoring them, he continued, "murdered on May 24th 2005 rogue Mossad operative, Ari Haswari." Ziva flinched slightly at his side, and Gibbs' intrigued stare turned into an extremely angry one. "Josh grew up in Indiana with his parents and 4 siblings, joined the navy shortly after his sister's death to 'feel closer to her'." Tony quoted Launa's exact words.

"About a month ago Mr and Mrs Todd began getting these anonymous messages- sometimes notes, sometimes texts or emails- all addressed to their youngest daughter, who has been dead for years. The family feel like they're being threatened, and that these notes may have a connection to Josh's murder. I've sent the evidence down to Abby."

Tony's three teammates stared at the pictures of the notes on the screen, searching for any visible clues on them.

"It's like," McGee mused, "someone is trying to send a message to the family while threatening them indirectly at the same time. They could also be warnings, I guess, someone trying to send a message without actually giving away the threat."

"Or," Gibbs interrupted impatiently, "they are trying to catch someone's attention without giving themselves away."

At that moment, the phone rang. Gibbs was on it in an instant. "Gibbs." He grunted. "Yeah. Ok, we'll be right down."

He hung up the phone and walked off towards the elevator, "Abby's got something."

Less than 2 minutes later, the team arrived down in the lab and were greeted anxiously by Abby and Ducky.

"What've you got Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"A few things that you won't like Gibbs," Abby smirked half-heartedly. Gibbs raised an eyebrow, all ears. "Captain Todd wasn't tortured in the woods, or anywhere near the area he was found. I found evidence on him that suggested another location- possibly a torture chamber or hostage station. I'm going over the details now."

Noticing that something was running on the computer and screen, Ziva enquired, "What's that?"

"Oh, I was just about to move onto that!"

"I managed to pull a print of the victim's body," Ducky chimed in, "definitely planted there deliberately by the killer for us to find."

"I'm currently searching for a match, but nothing has come up and I've been running the search for hours!" Abby replied.

There was a moment where the room fell silent. Everybody had one thing on their minds, and that was finding Joshua Todd's killer and relieving his family of their stress. Tony's brain couldn't help but wonder back to Kate. Her death had affected him more than he cared to admit, and seeing her picture all over the family home hadn't helped him forget the way that she'd been gunned down in front of his eyes. Then that moment ended, and Ziva broke that silence with an awkward sounding question.

"Are you searching through every database that we have?"

Abby's brow furrowed slightly, "Yeah, why?"

Ziva sighed, looking shifty and uncomfortable, "Try widening your search to the dead as well as the living, just to be thorough."

The Forensic Scientist looked incredibly suspicious and confused, but widened the search just as her colleague told her to. The team couldn't help but notice how skittish Ziva looked- eyes wide, hands twiddling with her Star of David necklace, shifting from foot to foot hastily.

In almost an instant, a match popped up.

"Woah!" Abby exclaimed, "That was quick!" Ziva nodded fretfully as she clicked to see the results.

At the sight of the match, Abby gasped and jumped back from her computer, almost landing on top of McGee. Tony's mind stopped wondering, Gibbs' expression became hellish, and Ziva looked like she wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

"Ziva," Gibbs growled in a merciless tone. "Is this some sort of sick joke?"

The taunting smirk of Ari Haswari loomed over the team, bringing back painful memories of a single gunshot that changed everything.

Ziva shook her head. "It's not Gibbs…"

Gibbs turned to Abby, absolutely fuming. "Run the search again: it's impossible- the bastard is **dead**."

That was the moment that Director Jenny Sheppard, who'd been standing outside listening to the whole conversation, walked in to break some news that added even more fuel to the burning flame that was Gibbs' hatred for Ziva's half brother.

"No Jethro," she sighed, "he's not."

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 **A/N: I apologize for this chapter being a bit late- I've been a little busy lately! I See Darkness will either be up tomorrow or Friday.**

 **Louise :)**


	4. Chapter 4: Revelations

Muttering fiercely to himself, Agent Gibbs paced furiously up and down in front of the main desk in the Director's office, causing Tim and Ziva to sink into their seats, not daring to say a word. Tony, who was used to Gibbs and his ever changing moods, sat right in front of the desk ignoring him, staring into space as he recalled the look on Launa Todd's face as she heard of her son's death, the anger and confusion in her eyes whilst she explained about the threatening notes. He could remember the same anger and confusion being in Kate's eyes when she was brought back to NCIS after being kidnapped by Ari.

Ziva, who was twiddling her thumbs nervously in her lap, snapped her head up suddenly as Jenny Shepard entered the room, carrying an almost overflowing case file in her arms. Gibbs immediately stopped pacing and stared at her intensely as she took a seat at her desk- no matter what Jenny did, no matter how annoyed he got with her, he still respected her more than any other director that the agency had ever had.

"I shouldn't be telling you all this," she began opening the file to refresh her mind, "It's all highly classified and really complicated, but I think you have to know."

Gibbs gave an abrupt nod, urging her to go on.

"The bottom note is that Ari Haswari walked away from Special Agent Todd's death and the whole double agent mess up a free man." Jen sighed. "He convinced both Mossad and the FBI that Kate's murder was a necessity in maintaining his cover in the cell that he was infiltrating and that it had nothing to do with biting back at NCIS. He provided so much evidence supporting his case that he got out of any charges, and walked away with a tiny slap on the wrist and a smug smirk on his face."

"What actually happened at my meeting?" Gibbs scowled.

"You killed an undercover FBI agent posing as Ari." Ziva chimed in quietly. "My brother deceived two huge international agencies and got away with it, cheating death once again at your hand."

Gibbs snarled. Tony's ears started to steam with silent rage. McGee appeared absolutely horrified.

"Why," McGee enquired, "Did the FBI let him off the death of a former Secret Service Agent so lightly? I mean, he also attempted to kill our agency's top forensic specialist and the director, and he got away with it? They must've had a reason."

Jenny nodded, her brow furrowing. "Haswari was the only mole to ever get as close to such a huge terrorist network as he did, so they had to keep him alive. They already believed his story, so all they had to do was fake his death so that he could keep that close to the cell, keeping him so far under NCIS' radar that there was no chance of you ever running into him. It worked perfectly too, until…"

"The FBI's plan backfired on them," Tony murmured, already guessing where this was going.

The director nodded at the senior field agent in approval. "A few months after Agent Todd's death, Ari Haswari completely disappeared off the FBI's radar, taking the complete cell that they were tracking with him."

"My brother is still out there, still alive, and still a rogue agent running an active terrorist cell." Ziva revealed, "And I have no doubt that he will come back to this team to finish what he started down in autopsy years ago."

At this, the team was stunned. Though it seemed impossible, it was obvious that the director and Ziva were right, and that they'd better be prepared for Ari's return.

"So…" Tony muttered, "Ari got a get out of jail free card while Kate got a bullet to the head by a cold-blooded killer, leaving her family with no closure whatsoever."

"Not exactly…" Jenny trailed off, unsure of how to break the next bout of news. "Ari wasn't the only one to cheat death that week in 2005."

Tony's breath caught.

"Kate Todd was removed from the warehouse before even setting foot on the rooftop." The director stated.

"What?" He whispered, "How?"

"It's a really messy ordeal. Even I'm not completely sure on how it was pulled off, so I'm not going to start any rumours. But Kate Todd is still out there in the world, and she's very much alive. She's in hiding, and when I say in hiding, I mean from everyone, even the witness protection program, and nobody knows where to start when it comes to finding her. She's completely off the grid, completely forgotten."

"Not anymore," Gibbs murmured, remembering the notes that Tony had been showing the team.

"No." Jenny sighed, her expression becoming stony. "Now someone extremely dangerous is trying to find her, and judging by the gruesome death of her brother, they'll stop at nothing."

"Ari," Tony whispered.

* * *

 **A/N: This chapter is a little shorter than the rest, but it covers a lot, so I hope you don't mind! What did you think about Jenny's revealation? I See Darkness will be up on Wednesday (I promise!).**

 **Louise :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Samuel Todd

3 AM came around and Tony DiNozzo was still awake, sorting out his thoughts over yet another steaming mug of coffee while the unwatched TV blared on in the background. He couldn't sleep, and knew he wouldn't be able to until the confusion of this case was over. To resolve the problem of exhaustion, he'd fully stocked up on all the coffee he could get his hands on, and was already sick of the stuff.

After the shocking revelation in the director's office, Gibbs had become inconsolable, completely blanking everyone: Ziva for betraying his trust, Jenny for knowing and not telling him and everyone else because he was Gibbs and could get away with it. Tony had received more death glares after that meeting than he'd received in the whole of his NCIS career. The boss was now in a mood even darker than he'd been in back when Ari was loose back in 2005, and Abby was the only person that he'd exchange words with. He'd been working with her alone, tracing various documents, numbers and addresses back to Ari, along with the threats being sent to Kate's family. This was a success, but it was obvious that Ari had wanted these documents to be found and linked back to him- a reminder that he was still alive and more active than ever.

Tony's eyes panned around his living room, which was decked out with dozens of photos of himself and his team: one of him and Gibbs with matching coffee mugs, him and McGee about to go to the annual NCIS Christmas party, him and Ziva giving each other the side eye, him and Abby hugging, him with Ducky and Jimmy giving the camera a thumbs up. There was one of the current team, all of them smiling professionally at the camera, one of the old team where Gibbs and McGee were looking professional and he and Kate were poking their tongues out at each other, arms folded across their chests.

He had two photos of him and Kate: one on a small coffee table next to the TV which showed them in matching Christmas sweaters (Abby had brought everyone on the team one that year) where Kate was smiling up and him and he down at her, and one where Tony had his arms wrapped around her waist from behind and was grinning while she laughed (for the camera's sake, as she had elbowed him in the side straight afterwards). Tony couldn't help but note that they were his two favourite team photos.

Just as he stood up to go and retrieve a snack from the kitchen, there was a frantic knock on Tony's front door. After checking that his sig sauwer was still at his belt, he sighed and arose from the chair reluctantly, wondering who the hell could be visiting at this time in the morning. Perhaps it was Abby, also unable to sleep at the thought of her best friend's murderer being on the rampage.

However, when he answered the door, he got a huge shock, as it was not his goth friend in the slightest.

On his doorstep stood a man with chocolate brown hair and hazel eyes, accompanied by a jaw line nearly identical to that of his sister. His clothes were ripped, grubby and blood-soaked, hanging off him in shreds. He had two black eyes, with scratches dripping cuts lining his facial features. Burn marks covered his neck, stretching down his arms and chest, while his legs were mostly untouched except from a few bruises and an out of place ankle. This man had been tortured, and severely.

"You don't know me, but I know who you are," he stuttered, "My sister gave me this address years ago, saying if I needed someone trustworthy and nearby in a dangerous time, come here."

Tony could already tell who the man was.

"My name is Samuel Todd, and my family is in grave danger."

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 **A/N: It's short, but introduces another member of the family! Follow/favourite if you enjoyed!**

 **Louise :)**


	6. Chapter 6: Coffee Chats

It was 3:30 AM by the time that Tony had made Sam a drink, let him use the shower, given him spare clothes, helped bind his wounds, phoned Gibbs to tell him what had happened and then sat down to join him. He couldn't get over the fact that Sam looked more like Kate than Rachel or Josh had, with the same hair, eyes and structure, that when he looked afraid, he looked like Kate had in the rare times that she'd let her guard down in front of him.

"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked, pulling out his PDA ready to write notes, watching as the middle Todd son sipped his coffee gratefully from where he was sat opposite him.

"It was around 7:30 PM, I was just coming back from a day out with a couple of mates. I opened the door to my apartment, went inside, and then suddenly I'm hit by something from behind and knocked out.

"When I woke up, I was in a dark room in what I later found out was a large farmhouse, tied to some chair and unable to move. There was a guy, and, well," he gestured to his battered form, "you can tell what happened next."

"What did the guy look like?" Tony demanded, typing away furiously on his PDA.

Sam scratched his chin trying to remember. "I couldn't see him very well- it was dark after all- but he was tall and slender, with tanned skin and dark hair. He had what I think was a heavy Israelian accent, and was annoyingly cocky- I told him just as much."

Ari. Tony made a note of this, suppressing a smirk as he remembered Kate saying a similar thing about his arrogance.

"While he did it," Sam shuddered at the violent memory, "he taunted me about things that didn't make sense; told me that my sister was alive over and over again, told me that he wouldn't stop hunting until he found her, and that she knew she could never escape him in the end. He seemed obsessed with her and I thought he was mad, but he was adamant that he was right."

"Did he kill Josh?"

Sam nodded slowly, staring down into the mug of brown liquid. "He said that he was going to hurt her family one by one until she came out of hiding to save them, and he would stop at nothing. If we didn't work, he'd move onto you lot at NCIS, and if that didn't work either, he'd go right back to childhood friends and Secret Service colleagues. It sounded like he'd murder the world if it would bring her back."

"But he didn't kill you," Tony stated gently.

"Said I looked so much like my sister that he couldn't do it in that moment. He let me run, but said that he'd come back for me in the end if he had to. The bastard said that he never wanted to kill Kate- that he would've taken her out to dinner if he could've, got to know her better," Sam spat, "Apparently he only did it to get under Agent Gibbs' skin. My resemblance to my baby sister has always been striking, but I never thought it would save my life.

"You have to do something Tony, before we all meet our end" he pleaded, "The guy's insane with lust, and is ridiculously determined. He won't stop until he finds my sister, and I don't have a clue where to begin when it comes to finding her. Everyone that Kate cared for, _loved_ enough to take a bullet for is going to be picked off one by one until she's found, and there's nothing we can do to stop him. I'd watch my back if I were you."

"Me?" Tony scoffed in surprise.

"We all know how she felt about you- and I can tell you now that it's more than what you'd feel for a brother. And I can tell from how you reacted to her death that you care about her more than you would care about a sister. It's a Todd thing- we keep our feelings bottled up because we see no point in letting them show. We have to really know you to let you see through the walls that we build up, and we have to care even more about you to bring them down. If we break down because of you, it means we care more than we want to admit, and I know for a fact that Kate has done that before over you."

Tony remembered coughing up blood and wheezing as if he had just run a lap around the world in that hospital bed years ago. He remembered Kate leaving because she'd been forced to, remembered watching over the doctor's shoulder as she fell into Ducky's arms in tears, remembered emotional words racking a distraught woman's body- " _He's dying Ducky._ "

"Even if you don't believe me," Sam continued, "promise me that you'll bring her home safe, and that no one else will get hurt."

Tony nodded, placing his hand over his heart solemnly, "I promise."

Sam let out a sigh of content, leaning back on the couch, coffee mug empty. He gazed around the room, his eyes lingering on the photos that contained his sister, a tiny smirk stretching across his lips. Tony thought he was going to ask about them, but instead his attention got snagged on something else.

"Nice goldfish," he commented with a knowing smile. "What's her name?"

A small laugh escaped Tony's lips. "Kate. Her name is Kate."

* * *

 **A/N: So that's what Ari wants? There will be more Tate soon, so stay tuned!**

 **Louise :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Not A Working Relationship

Only 4 hours after the ordeal with Sam Todd, Tony found himself sitting in front of the Director's desk, this time without the rest of his team accompanying him. He somehow felt self conscious sat alone in the office, waiting for Jenny to arrive, hundreds of thoughts dancing around inside his brain. He couldn't stop thinking about what the second Todd son had revealed to him, from Ari's true plans to Kate's possible feelings for him. There was one thing that was definitely true in a swirl of maybes- Kate had to be found, and he was the one who was going to find her.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Agent DiNozzo," Director Shepard sighed as she rushed into the office, her red hair flying behind her, yet another file clutched in her arms. She gave him a vague smile as she hurriedly took a seat behind the desk. "It's been a very eventful morning."

Tony nodded tiredly, "For you and me both," he grinned slightly.

Jenny smiled wearily as if to say, 'you have no idea.' "I've heard the basics, but tell me in detail what Samuel Todd told you. I need to hear everything."

Tony told her, not leaving a single bit out apart from the part of Sam's conversation when he'd mentioned Kate's feelings towards him, and his back to her.

After he'd finished, Jenny tapped her pen on the desk surface lightly, clearly processing everything that she'd just been told. For a couple of minutes she stared at Tony intently as if she could read his thoughts until finally she spoke.

"The last known address for Agent Todd before she went off the grid was a safehouse in Virginia," the Director pushed an address across the desktop. "I think if you need to find her then there would be a good place to start. I've told Gibbs to give you the day off under classified circumstances, so you can go right now."

Tony took the piece of paper and read it swiftly before pocketing it.

"I've been reading through Agent Todd's file, along with yours, and from what I've read, you two cared about each other a great deal, and would risk your lives for each other? Is that correct?"

"We were partners," Tony shrugged, though he felt his cheeks flushing, "It was our job to look out for each other in the field."

Jenny raised an eyebrow. "According to a couple of insiders, you and Kate had a lot of unresolved tension between the two of you. You wouldn't let her out of your sight after the two times that Ari had got to her, and she did the same to you after you were forced to kill Jeffrey White. She stayed with you while you battled the plague even though she was at risk of getting infected, her heart breaking as she thought you were dying, and helped you recover when you were on sick leave. You saved her and McGee from getting blown up by an explosive; she sketched a photographic picture of you in her sketchbook; you didn't speak to anyone for three whole days after she died, and even after that you only spoke to Abby and Gibbs. That sounds like more than a simple working partner relationship to me: I would know."

Tony stared at the Director in disbelief. Were his feelings for Kate that obvious? "I'd better be heading off- I have a long day ahead of me."

Jenny nodded smugly, knowing that she'd caught him off guard. "As you wish Tony," she smiled as he left the room.

* * *

Tony unlocked the door of the safehouse and stepped into the hallway. Of course, many people had stayed there both before and after Kate, so it was possible that he wouldn't find anything, but he had to try.

He did a quick sweep over every room- a small lounge, a tiny kitchen, a bedroom and a bathroom. Upon finding nothing, he began to search each room in detail. The lounge, kitchen and bathroom turned up empty, so he finally moved into the bedroom, praying that he would come across something useful.

Deciding to be even more thorough with this room, he searched under the bed, lifting up the comforter and pillows, inside the wardrobe and dresser. Again, he found nothing. Letting out a groan of rage, he shoved the dresser to one side, and that's when he finally found something.

Slowly, he reached down and picked up a small notepad. Examining it closely, he realised that someone had scratched the initials S.A.K.T into its black leather cover- Special Agent Kate Todd.

Shakily, he opened the book and began to read the small cursive handwriting.

 _I've barely been here a day and I'm already sick of it. I feel so stupid and useless sat here by myself. I should be out there tracking down the man who's caused our team so much harm rather than hiding here like a coward. The problem is, I know he's going to escape by the end of all this, and he knows that I'm here too. I can be pushed into a protection program for years at a time, but he'll always find me, so I don't see the point._

Tony's hands were trembling so much that he could barely turn the page. This was definitely Kate's writing.

 _It was my funeral this morning. Now the team will move on. A new agent will replace me. Gibbs will suffocate them with his many rules, McGee will nerd them out with that magnificent brain of his, Abby will give them hugs, Ducky will bombard them with his stories. And Tony, well, who knows what Tony will do; throw them into the deep end, give them movie references, be the good agent that I know he is deep down. Tony. I don't really know why I miss him so much, but I do, more so than I thought I was ever capable of. I guess its true- you never know what you have until it's gone. And it can go as quickly as it comes._

Kate had missed him? He turned to the next page, the last page that contained written words.

 _He's coming for me. I'm not sticking around just for him to come and torment me any longer, I'm out. I know eventually, someone will find this, and I truly hope that it is the person who'll solely be able to find me. Anthony DiNozzo, here is my one clue for you…_

… _Rachel._


	8. Chapter 8: On The Right Foot

Once again, Tony was stood on the Todd's doorstep, feeling equally as guilty as before, but also extremely determined to discover the truth and what secrets Kate's sister might be hiding, perhaps not even realising that she was hiding anything. At this point, he needed all of the information he could get on Kate's location, since according to her, he was the only one who'd be able to find her.

A couple of minutes later, Rachel answered the door, looking worn out and stressed. When she saw him, a wary smile stretched across her lips, and she opened the front door wider for him. "Tony, hi! Is everything ok? Mom and Dad are out if you wanted to speak to them."

"Yeah, everything's fine," he reassured, "and actually, I wanted to speak to you; can I come in?"

Looking slightly bamboozled, Rachel nodded silently and stood aside, letting him into the house, leading him down the hallway and into the kitchen, where she sat him down at the kitchen table. Tony pulled Kate's diary out from his pocket and placed it on the table in front of him, ready to get started. Rachel took a seat opposite him, taking out her phone and laying it on the table in front of her.

"So…" She began, "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"I'm guessing you've already heard that your sister is alive."

Rachel couldn't help but smirk, "it was a shock, but I'm glad. I'm guessing your next move is to find her."

"Yes, it is, and apparently, you're the only one that can help me with that." Tony slid the small diary across the table to her. "This was Kate's. Read it to the end," he commanded softly.

The Senior Field Agent watched closely as Kate's sister flicked through the pages of her late sibling's diary. He watched as her eyebrows rose and fell in surprise, worry and (finally) confusion, watched her eyes scanning across each page hurriedly. By the time she'd finished, Rachel looked up at him with hope in her eyes, but blankness in the lines of her face: she was clearly bewildered at what Kate was suggesting.

"What does this mean?" She whispered, staring straight at him with an unwavering eyeline.

"It means that if I'm going to find Kate, you're the only person who can set me off down the right path."

Rachel nodded distantly at this thought. "But I don't have any idea what will be useful to you."

Tony continued desperately, "Did anything suspicious happen in the week leading up to your sister's death; anything out of the ordinary? Was Kate on edge at all, acting suspiciously or out of the ordinary? Did she do or say anything that made no sense to you at the time?"

Thoughtfully, Rachel began to drum her fingers on the tabletop, a habit that Kate had also had when she was trying to remember something important for a case. Eventually her eyes lit up as an idea came to her. "I've got it!"

"What is it?"

Rachel promptly shot up from the table, "I'll be right back," she stated, dashing out of the room and running along down the passageway to her room to fetch something. A few moments later, she returned, clutching a couple of sheets of paper in her hands tightly, an assured expression on her face. Before sitting down again, she thrusted the sheets in Tony's hands expectantly.

Tony gazed down at the two sheets of paper gripped in his palms. One was a picture of a run-down lodge, the wooden walls rotting and covered with ivy, windows grotty and cracked, the grass growing outside long and unruly. The other was a small yellow post-it note with a single address written on it in Kate's familiar handwriting, clearly matching the building.

"My sister gave this to me 2 days before she passed away. She said that she was tempted to buy the place and do it up so that it was really nice: it was quite cheap on the market. At the time I laughed it off because I thought she was joking, but now I'm not sure what to think."

"Is the place still on the market?" Tony enquired curiously.

"Last time I checked, yes."

"Then I think," Tony stood up from the table, taking the address and picture with him as he prepared to leave, "that is where I shall start."

The two made their way towards the exit, Rachel leading the way. Tony opened the front door and let himself out, back onto the doorstep. "I promise you that I will do everything I possibly can to find Kate," he assured, shaking the woman's hand, "and I won't stop until she's home safely."

Rachel smiled a genuinely trusting smile. "I have every faith that you will Tony." As he nodded and turned to leave, she quickly continued, "Just promise me one more thing."

"Anything," Tony replied.

"When you find my sister, please make sure you tell her your feelings for her." Rachel smirked, "Because I fear if you leave it any longer, it will be too late."

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"I'm a psychiatrist, Agent DiNozzo," she revealed, "I can see even the most hidden feelings in people's hearts, no matter how personal they may be."

The Senior Field Agent grinned, "I will."

* * *

 **A/N: Hey everyone, I'm so sorry for the unintended hiatus: I've been focusing on school and exams for the past few weeks and haven't had a chance to write but I'm back now! ISD should hopefully be up on Weds as usual, so see you again then!  
**

 **Louise :)**


	9. Chapter 9: The First Clue

Picking his way through a selection of weeds, brambles and nettles, Tony cautiously approached the rundown front porch of the abandoned house. No smart human would ever willingly choose to set foot there: it was probably overrun by plenty of rats and other unwelcome lifeforms; but he knew that if he wanted to find his lost partner, then he had to. Kate would not leave clues leading to this place if it was completely unnecessary to visit it.

Upon finally reaching the front steps, Tony surveyed the outside of the building, pulling his sig out of his pocket just to be safe. The brickwork was cracked and covered in ivy and other climbers, grey with years of dust and dirt underneath. Some of the wooden planks that made up the porch were missing, leaving ominous gaps in the structure, while others were so weather worn that they were damaged beyond repair. Where stunning flowers would've once decorated the window boxes, brambles and cobwebs now hung instead, and snatched at the heads of anyone who tried to enter. The front door was made of chipped dark wood, with a smashed glass panel, practically hanging off its hinges; it screeched for oil when he gravely pushed it open.

Though the house's interior was still not the best, it was definitely an improvement compared to the horrific exterior: even if it was dark and dusty, the place was certainly more organised. The windows were practically useless they were so cracked and grimy, but at least they had pairs of tattered curtains covering them. There were cobwebs in the rafters and vines growing in through gaps in the brickwork, but they appeared fairly maintained, as if someone had previously been there and cut them back. In one corner was an outlet, which surprisingly seemed to work, as next to it stood a grey mini-fridge, which wasn't plugged in, but quite clearly had been once, and had been functional. In another was a mattress covered with a grubby blanket and a thin pillow. Next to the mattress was a torch that contained no batteries.

Warily, he crept across the creaky, rotting floorboards and a thinning embroidered rug to the mattress- the central piece of the practically empty room. He sat down, the springs contracting beneath his weight. Bringing the blanket up to his face, he sniffed it, desperately searching for a trace of his partner; finding one. He breathed in Kate's familiar scent, hugging the blanket close to his body as if it were a piece of her, as if by touching it, he could bring her back. Something hidden inside the blanket crackled loudly as he held it. Intrigued, he untangled the tatty fabric and found a large, plain, white envelope.

His fingers quivering almost unnoticeably, he pealed open the envelope, tipping the contents out into his hands. There were three different items in the package, and Tony examined them all closely, slowly figuring out the clues that Kate was leaving behind her. One item was a photo: a picture of them taken on her first week at NCIS. This made it quite clear that the contents of the envelope were for him. The second was an NCIS application form, with Caitlin Todd's name, date of birth, and all of the other essential information when it came to joining the agency. Finally, there was yet another yellow post-it, this time adorned with two pieces of dialogue that he remembered due to them being recalled to him vividly after they'd closed the joint NCIS/ Secret Service case: _"Pull that crap at NCIS; I won't give you a chance to resign!"_ _"Is that a job offer?"_ –The final words that confirmed Kate's transfer to NCIS.

For a moment, Tony pondered the clues, but then it hit him: Kate's next clue would be at the place that she was offered her Special Agent role: the airport where Air Force 1 landed before she resigned from the Secret Service, leaving her old life and colleagues behind. It was so obvious now, yet not so much if the person reading it didn't know the whole story, as Ari wouldn't. Immediately, he shot up, instantly determined to find the next clue.

Before he left, his attention was drawn to a ton of scratches across one of the walls in the form of a tally. Tony counted 57 strikes, 57 days that Kate had used this crap as a refuge. This was the amount of time that she spent waiting, hoping that one of her teammates would pick up her trail and come and find her while never hearing the familiar footsteps of someone she cared for walking in and doing exactly that. The place had despair and hopeless longing floating in the air, frustration and restriction written on the walls, loneliness and stress woven into the fabric of the blanket and grotty curtains.

Walking out of the wreck with a new destination on his mind, Tony made a promise to himself. He would be the one to find Kate, not Ari, and he would bring her home safe, just as she had been wishing for. He would not give up on her, even though so many people had.

* * *

 **A/N: Hello! I hope you enjoyed this chapter of Oh, Brother. Come back next week for another!  
**

 **If you want to see some snippets from a new Aria related fic, head on over to my bio, and go straight to the bottom to the snippets section! The fic will be coming your way soon... ;)**

 **Louise :)**


	10. Chapter 10: The Next Clue

By the time he made it to the right airport landing zone, Tony had flashed his federal badge countless times and had barged through many terminals while answering numerous queries from airport staff. Positively exhausted from the constant questioning, he allowed himself to let out a sigh of relief when he reached the destination of the next clue.

The place hadn't changed, it was still as it had been back when he'd met Kate a few years ago. Meeting her had been enlightening, to put it lightly. Despite being surrounded and plainly outnumbered by men on their first case together, she had stood her ground, and hadn't let any of her colleagues think anything less of her than anyone else. She hadn't taken any of his crap, and in turn had gained a lot of admiration from him, as no woman had ever snapped back at him in that way before. From day one, he'd known that there was something special about her, and that something special had stayed put throughout the two years that they'd worked together, and even after her 'death'. Nobody could truly replace her, no matter how hard they tried.

As he began to retrace the steps that Kate had taken the night that she had accepted her job, he thought of their first meeting. One look at her, and he'd been mesmerised; it wasn't something he'd been able to hide easily, as the huge smug smirks on his teammates faces had reminded him when they'd caught him staring at her. He hadn't known what it was about her that had captured his attention so easily- she was far from his usual type (at a first glance), but she had intrigued him. She had intrigued him more than any woman he'd ever met before, and he had been determined to find out why. And oh boy, he had found out why. Beneath her tough shell, Caitlin Todd had been one of the most caring, kind-hearted people in the world, and she would do anything for the people she cared about (even die for them). That, and the fact that once he'd got to know her better, she'd unknowingly helped him discover that his type wasn't tall blonde 'bimbos' (as Kate would've called them), but small, feisty brunettes who fought back when he teased them or bickered with them.

Tony approached the landing zone as closely as he dared before walking back towards the gate, keeping as close to the path Kate had taken as possible. His eyes scanned the walls surrounding him, the gate he was coming up to, the ground that he stepped on, defiantly searching for whatever his partner could've hidden for him. Upon finding nothing, he walked back up to his starting point and did the same thing again. This process ended up being repeated twice more before something stuffed in a crack in the underside of the pavement caught his eye.

Crouching down and peering at the pavement, he realised that the something was a crumpled envelope, accompanied by a small black plastic tube. He removed the items from their hiding place and inspected them closely. The envelope was plain white and sealed tightly, but completely empty. Opening the tube, he discovered that it was actually a red lipstick- something he'd never known Kate to wear, but soon realised the significance of.

A white envelope sealed with a red kiss brought back memories of blue, plague killing lights and bloodstained tissues. Machines pumping useless antibiotics into his disintegrating immune system as his shredded themselves with every breath. Kate crying into Ducky's shoulder, Gibbs storming in and telling him that he wasn't going to die, relief flooding through him as the drugs began to work and he started to recover.

But surely it was impossible for Kate to get into the isolation ward of Bethesda Naval hospital? Unless…

 _"…My youngest son, David became a doctor and Bethesda Naval Hospital…"_

Could she have snuck something in through her older brother without him even noticing? Or was it possible that she didn't mean the hospital: perhaps the squad room itself, or the mail room, or even Abby's lab?

Tony's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as his phone began to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket, tempted to ignore it, but once he saw whose name it was on the caller ID, he immediately thought otherwise.

"DiNozzo," he answered, "Everything ok Boss?"

"DiNozzo, get back at the Navy Yard, it's an emergency."

"I'm on it," Tony replied, "What's happened?"

"Someone tried to blow up Mr and Mrs Todd's home, with them inside."

Apparently, cracking the next location would have to wait.

* * *

 **A/N: Apologies for not uploading in weeks! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll try and be more active from now on!  
**

 **Louise :)**


	11. Chapter 11: David Todd

By the time Tony made it back to NCIS headquarters, he'd broken the majority of Washington D.C's speed limits and nearly caused two major car pile-ups. This was a style of travelling called 'Gibbs Driving', as it was frequently used by the man himself, and usually ended with at least two of his three agents feeling nauseous. Reckless though it was, this method of driving was extremely effective, and got Tony to his destination in approximately 10 minutes, which was still slower than he may've liked, but would have to do.

Upon basically sprinting into the bullpen, still clutching Kate's clues in hand, he came across Jimmy Palmer, the Medical Assistant comfortably seated in McGee's office chair completely absorbed in playing a game on his computer.

"Autopsy Gremlin!" He barked by way of greeting, making the young man snap back into reality instantly.

"Agent DiNozzo!" Jimmy cried, clearly startled, "I was just…"

"Where's Gibbs?" Tony interrupted, momentarily satisfied with his obvious seniority over the newer employee of the two.

"He's in the conference room, along with everybody else."

Not even giving his colleague a nod of thanks, Tony rushed up the stairs and along the landing to the conference room, not pausing for a second before bursting through the door.

Tony immediately regretted not pausing as soon as he entered the room: over a dozen heads turned to meet his surprised gaze, including those of McGee, Ziva, Gibbs, and NCIS Director, Jenny Shepard. Along with those of his teammates, he recognised the faces of Rachel, Sam, Launa and Sean Todd. There were others though whose faces he didn't, but he assumed that they must be other Todd relatives, a notable one being a man who looked almost identical to Kate's sister, with chestnut hair and dark eyes. Tony assumed this was Kate's third and final older brother, David.

"Agent DiNozzo." Jenny greeted, her tone of voice was serious, yet it held a hint of relief in it. "Where were you?"

"I was following a lead." He responded simply, his eyes meeting with Launa's.

The Director nodded in acknowledgement before continuing with what she'd been saying before Tony's arrival. "As I was saying," she announced to the gathering, "we have a few safehouses that we can put you into, which will be watched 24 hours around the clock by Agent Gibbs' team and other highly trained groups. There will be video surveillance of the premises' all day every day until the danger is averted, when you will all be returned home safely." Jen hesitated, letting this information sink into the minds of the shell-shocked family. "Any questions?"

Most of the family shook their heads, but Sean spoke up. "Do you know who is responsible for all these attacks and threats?"

"We have strong evidence proving that these attacks are the work of the man who caused your daughter's 'death', Ari Haswari."

There was a minute of angry muttering among the group before Kate's dad interrupted it with another question. "Why all of a sudden does he want to harm us? Why now?"

"Agent Gibbs and his team believe that he caught wind of Agent Todd being alive, and has set his mind on finding her. He's tried tracking her himself, and has come up empty after threatening her relentlessly. We think now that he's realised that the only way to get to your daughter is through her family, which is why Joshua was killed and Samuel was beaten severely. It is why your own home was targeted today: Ari thinks that by torturing you, he will capture Kate's attention, and lure her out of hiding with her desire to save those she loves."

"When will he stop? When will my family be safe?"

Jenny breathed out exasperatedly. "Judging by Ari's annoying persistence and determination in the past, I personally don't think he'll stop unless one thing happens. I don't think Ari will stop his attacks until he gets what he wants: your daughter, alive."

Silence fell across the room as the clan took in what the woman had just said, even the team, who'd already known the answers to all three of the questions stood quietly in thought. Finally, the youngest Todd brother cleared his throat purposefully, raising his hand as if he was a student wanting to ask a teacher a question.

"Yes, David?" The Director smiled, playing the part of the teacher.

"May I have a word with Agent DiNozzo?" He requested before adding, "In private?"

Jen glanced up at Tony, an eyebrow raised quizzically. "Sure," Tony smirked, locking eyes with the man. As David rose from his seat, he picked something up from the floor below his chair and held it against his side so that the other people in the room couldn't see it. Tony's heart was racing. Could this possibly have something to do with Kate's clue?

They stepped outside of the conference room, shutting the door behind them quietly. As soon as it clicked into place, Tony turned to David, needing to hear whatever he had to say instantly.

"What is it?" He demanded.

If he was surprised at Tony's outburst, David didn't show it as he handed him the object that he'd previously been hiding. Immediately after getting a better look at it, he discovered that it was a map of Paraguay, the country that he and Kate had gone to alone, framed in a bulky oak frame. It felt unusually heavy for a simple piece of wood with some paper, so he held it tightly in both hands as if it was an ancient artefact.

"A few months after my sister died, someone delivered a package containing this to me at work," he gestured to the frame. "I had no idea why it was given to me, but at the time I remembered Kate mentioning a trip to Paraguay with a male colleague, so I kept it, thinking it was a souvenir and didn't really mean anything."

"What makes you think it's something now?" Tony asked, even though he already had a feeling that the map had more meaning.

"Times have changed," David shrugged. "My oldest brother was murdered, the other was tortured. My parent's home was destroyed today, and they were seconds away from going with it. The next thing I know, I'm being forced from my job by feds, I find out that Kate is alive, and that her partner is on the job of finding her. When I quietly asked your friend (Officer David?) how you plan on finding her, she explained that she thought Kate would leave clues for you. Before I was made to leave, this was the one thing I grabbed because I thought it was too much of a coincidence for this map to show up randomly."

The senior field agent nodded, bringing the map up and holding it to his chest. "Thanks David," he smiled, "I'll take a look at it. And I promise that I'm doing everything I possibly can to find your sister."

The youngest Todd son grinned before opening the door, glancing back at him as he disappeared inside. "I believe you Tony."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm back! I was tempted to put all of Tony sorting out the map and next clue in this chapter, but a) I'm not a fan of writing long chapters, and b) The two chapters have two different moods to them, so I don't want to mix them. I See Darkness should be up this week!  
**

 **Louise :)**


	12. Chapter 12: Bring Her Home

Tony set the map down on the table in front of him, the combined smells of steaming coffee and artificial vending machine oxygen surrounding him. The break room was silent and empty (excluding him) - the perfect place for him to privately examine his newest clue without any distractions or interruptions. His teammates were still in the midst of consoling the Todd family, so he didn't have to worry about any of them walking in on his mini investigation.

He started off by running his fingers over the spiralling grooves of the frame, tracing the patterns once, then twice, three times. The oak frame was made up of complicated swirls and twists that intertwined with each other repeatedly. There was nothing abnormal in this detailed engraving, but then again, he never expected there to be. Giving up this on this aspect of the object, he moved his attention to the map of Paraguay being displayed.

The map was vintage style- appearing to have been ripped out of an old school geography textbook. It was your typical informant, showing the location of the country, its capital, all major towns and important natural locations. However, one specific place was highlighted in pink, immediately catching Tony's eye as he remembered it as the town that he and Kate had been sent to years ago. This should've been enough evidence to indicate his partner's location, but the agent continued searching for more clues, knowing that if this was from her, there would be something else to prove it true. Kate's location right at his fingertips, he began disassembling the item, removing the back from the frame gently and setting it aside. What he saw next made his green eyes widen with shock, and his fingers begin to tremble as he reached inside of the frame.

A white envelope was pulled from the oak wood, the paper bearing a single name- his.

Ever so gently, he peeled off the seal of the envelope and revealed a letter tucked neatly inside, written in Kate's familiar handwriting. Hands shaking with anticipation, he hastily began to read.

 _Tony,_

 _First off, I must congratulate you- I underestimated your investigative skills. My clues were pretty basic, but still, you were the only one capable of getting this far, and you did. You were always a good agent, way better than me, even if I never told you, so I shouldn't be surprised that you're here._

 _Secondly, I have to apologize. I'm guessing that because you're here, you know that I faked my death and went into hiding after that day on the rooftop. I want you to know Tony that this wasn't my decision. If it had been up to me, I would never EVER have abandoned our team. EVER. It was the Director who made the final choice for my safety, and that choice was to put me under the deepest form of witness protection. It was as much to protect you as it was me. When you find me, you'll know the whole story: it's too risky to write it here._

 _My location is now obvious to you, DiNozzo, and this is your opportunity to follow up on that. Don't bring anyone, not even Gibbs, because if you do, I'll know, and I'll move. I've done it enough recently, and I've become extremely good at it. Don't communicate anyone from home when you get near me, because he's watching, just waiting for me to slip up; he has been doing so for years, and he'll decide to pay us a visit. I have a feeling that my family is in enough danger as it is and if you mess up and give us away then we'll all be doomed._

 _There's so much more that I want to say, but until you're here with me I'll keep it to myself. Just know that I have faith in you, Anthony DiNozzo, I always have and I always will. Our lives are in your hands, and I expect you to handle them with care._

 _Until I see you,_

 _Kate._

Averting his eyes from the paper, Tony ran a hand through his ruffled hair, a small smile playing at his lips. This was it. He was going to find Kate. He was going to say all the things that he'd held in when they'd been together- that he thought he'd never get another chance to say. Finding Kate alive was a dream coming to life right before his eyes, and he was about to welcome it with open arms.

"DiNozzo." A gruff voice broke him from his reverie.

Tony glanced up, his eyes meeting the pair of icy blue ones that belonged to his boss. "Gibbs," he parroted, observing the older man as he sat down in front of him. He didn't move to stop Gibbs as he slipped the letter out of his fingers and began devouring it with his hawk-like gaze. There was a moment of silence whilst he read it, and once he was done, he handed it back to him carefully.

"I take it that you want a few days off."

Tony nodded. "If you don't give them to me I'll just go MIA." He locked his gaze with his boss'. "I have to go after her Gibbs. I can't lose her again."

"You love her."Not a question, a statement.

Not missing a beat, he answered, "I do." Simple but effective.

"I know."

"You know?" Tony exclaimed incredulously. "How?"

"You're not as slick as you think." Gibbs shrugged, holding back a sly smirk.

"So…are you going to let me go or not?"

Eyeing his agent up and down, Gibbs gave the smallest nod humanly possible.

That was all Tony needed. He shot up from his seat, snatching up the frame and letter briskly. "Thank you Boss," he grinned, "thank you so much." Two seconds was all it took for him to get to the door, bursting with excitement. He was going to find Kate. He was going to bring her back home. He was going to take her in his arms and hold her as if he could never let go. He was going to tell her that he loved her, and hopefully, just hopefully, she would say it back.

"Tony," he heard his superior call out, causing to spin on his heel and look back at him.

"Yes Gibbs?"

"Bring her home."

* * *

 **A/N: I'M BACK! I deeply apologize for being MIA for so long. School has restarted and I'm currently having to juggle homework, sports, hobbies, stress and personal issues along with this. Chapters of my fics may not be as frequent as they used to be any more, but they will continue to be uploaded until the stories are done.  
**

 **Thank you so much for sticking around,**

 **Louise :)**


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